THE  ATTAINMENT  OF  SUCCESS 

ADDRESSES  BY 

CHARLES  RICHARD  VAN  HISE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  .WISCONSIN 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
I    in  2007  with  funding  from 
I      Microsoft  Corporation 


'littp  ://www!^ix;  h  nn  e  ntbf  succOOvan  h  rib  h 


THE  ATTAINMENT  OF  SUCCESS 


BACCALAUREATE  AND  COMMENCEMENT  ADDRESSES 


BY 


CHARLES  RICHARD  VAN  HISE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


DELIVERED  AT  THE  FIFTY-FOURTH  COMMENCEMENT 

OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

MADISON,  JUNE  16-19,  1907 


\5 


THE  ATTAINMENT  OF  SUCCESS 

BACCALAUREATE  ADDRESS 

You  and  I,  Glass  of  1907,  four  years  ago  entered  as 
freshmen  together.  During  these  four  years,  my  work 
has  been  such  that  I  have  given  much  consideration 
to  the  essentials  of  efficiency.  You  who  are  now  to 
begin  your  life  work  will  find  it  necessary  during  the 
coming  years  to  become  personally  efficient.  There- 
fore, today  I  shall  speak  of  some  of  the  fundamental 
qualities  of  efficiency  which  are  necessary  for  success. 

Success  is  assured  to  each  of  you  who  during  the 
period  of  your  education  has  acquired  three  funda- 
mental qualities:  punctuality,  accuracy,  and  relia- 
bility. 

How  many  during  the  four  years  that  you  have 
been  at  the  university  have  met  every  engagement 
with  your  instructors  punctually?  Or,  if  any  unfore- 
seen emergency  has  prevented  you  from  keeping  an 
engagement,  how  many  have  seen  that  the  reason  has 
been  promptly  sent  to  the  instructor  with  whom  the 
engagement  was  made?  Possibly  more  ayes  would 
be  heard  if  the  question  were  asked :  How  many  have 
taken  as  many  cuts  as  they  dared?  How  many  been 
late  at  the  lecture  room  or  laboratory  as  often  as  they 
thought  it  safe?  Probably  the  great  majority  find 
your  places  between  these  extremes.    You  of  the  mid- 

[3] 


die  group  have  not  met  all  your  engagements;  you 
have  intended  to  meet  as  many  as  could  be  kept  with- 
out too  great  inconvenience  to  yourselves.  You  have 
kept  your  engagements  to  an  extent  that  seemed  rea- 
sonable to  you. 

Doubtless  many  of  you  think  that  an  occasional 
failure  to  meet  an  engagement  with  an  instructor  in 
the  university  is  a  small  matter,  and  in  one  sense  this 
is  true ;  but  in  another  sense,  not  so.  Those  who  dur- 
ing the  four  years  of  their  work  at  the  university 
have  acquired  the  habit  of  meeting  promptly  and 
without  fail  every  engagement  have  a  great  advantage 
over  those  who  have  followed  the  opposite  policy,  for 
in  any  vocation  failure  to  meet  your  engagements 
promptly  will  be  a  heavy  handicap.  If  your  first  job 
is  with  a  large  business  or  industrial  house,  such 
failure  will  not  be  tolerated.  A  man  who  takes  a  posi- 
tion in  a  bank,  in  a  commercial  house,  in  a  manufac- 
turing plant,  may  once  fail  to  be  at  the  appointed  place 
at  the  assigned  time  and  have  that  failure  overlooked. 
If  failure  occurs  twice,  however,  his  position  becomes 
precarious;  and  if  it  occurs  three  times  without  an 
extraordinarily  good  reason,  dismissal  is  little  short 
of  certain.  Therefore,  the  student  who  at  graduation 
has  learned  with  invariable  promptness  to  meet  his 
engagements,  is  many  laps  in  advance  of  the  man 
who  has  not  acquired  this  habit,  for  the  quality  can- 
not be  gained  in  a  day.  It  is  one  which  is  slowly  ac- 
quired by  long  and  patient  self-cultivation,  continual 
demand  upon  one's  self  that  he  shall  not  be  a  minute 
late  at  an  appointment,  that  he  shall  not  be  a  day  be- 
hind in  the  performance  of  an  assigned  piece  of  work. 
To  acquire  this  quality  one  must  be  a  severe  taskmas- 

w 


ter  with  himself,  must  punish  himself,  at  least  men- 
tally, whenever  he  lapses  in  this  particular. 

Professor  Shaler,  late  dean  of  the  Lawrence  Scien- 
tific School,  once  said  to  me  that  in  more  than  thirty 
years  during  which  he  had  been  at  Harvard  he  had 
never  failed  to  meet  one  of  the  many  thousands  of  en- 
gagements that  he  had  made  with  the  students.  A 
member  of  the  Wisconsin  state  legislature  who  has 
been  here  for  several  terms  recently  remarked  to  me 
that  thus  far  he  had  never  missed  a  roll-call.  If  these 
things  are  of  sufficient  importance  so  that  men  of  af- 
fairs regard  with  pride  the  fact  that  in  the  matter 
of  punctuality  and  regularity  in  keeping  engagements 
they  have  never  failed,  these  qualities  are  of  sufficient 
importance  to  engage  the  most  serious  attention  of 
one  who  is  at  the  beginning  of  his  life  work. 

The  second  of  the  qualities  which  I  wish  to  call  to 
your  attention  is  that  of  accuracy.  How  often  have 
many  of  you  said  in  reference  to  a  piece  of  work: 
*^0h,  I  understood  the  principle;  the  mistake  was 
merely  a  numerical  one.*'  It  is  undoubtedly  of  the 
first  importance  that  you  understand  the  principle, 
and  in  mere  practice  work  it  may  not  be  important 
that  the  numerical  computations  be  correct,  but  when 
the  computations  apply  to  the  steel  of  a  building,  or 
a  bridge,  it  is  important  that  they  be  infallible.  It 
may  be  very  well  for  you  to  understand  the  principle, 
but  if  you  are  required  to  make  a  copy  of  an  import- 
ant contract,  it  is  necessary  that  every  word,  aye, 
every  point  shall  be  exactly  as  in  the  original,  for  a 
single  change  may  imperil  great  interests. 

The  quality  of  accuracy  is  indeed  a  rare  one,  but  it 
is  a  quality  which,  like  that  of  punctuality,  may  be 


acquired  by  any  one.  Some  of  you  may  have  failed 
to  acquire  a  deep  understanding  of  the  principles  of 
the  more  difficult  subjects  with  which  you  have  had  to 
deal  during  your  college  course.  Some  of  you  may 
have  been  slow  in  your  work,  but  each  one  of  you  may 
do  whatever  you  do,  with  absolute  accuracy.  Ac- 
curacy is  a  mere  matter  of  habit  which  may  be  ac- 
quired by  the  dullest  man  in  the  class ;  indeed,  it  often 
is  possessed  in  a  greater  degree  by  the  dull  man  than 
by  the  acute  one,  because  he  has  taken  pains  in  this 
particular  while  the  readier  man  has  not.  But  let 
the  one  who  is  swift  in  his  work  and  has  given  little 
thought  to  accuracy,  take  warning.  Unless  you 
remedy  the  defect  during  the  next  few  years,  your 
duller  companion  who  has  acquired  this  habit  will 
pass  you  in  the  life  march. 

The  third  of  the  fundamental  qualities  which  are 
necessary  for  your  success  is  reliability.  By  relia- 
bility I  mean  the  execution  of  the  orders  of  your  supe- 
riors with  unfailing  certainty.  This  quality  of  relia- 
bility is  more  rare  than  either  punctuality  or  ac- 
curacy. It  is  a  quality  of  such  importance  that  its 
possession  is  immensely  appreciated  by  the  superior 
officer.  The  great  strain  of  an  executive  position  is 
not  so  much  in  planning  the  work,  as  in  seeing  that 
the  thing  is  done.  A  project  is  conceived;  plans  are 
formulated  for  its  execution;  the  different  parts  of 
the  work  are  assigned  to  various  men.  The  chief 
would  thenceforth  have  a  comparatively  easy  time  if 
he  could  be  assured  that  all  these  men  would  do  the 
work  assigned  to  them.  But  he  knows  from  expe- 
rience that,  if  left  to  themselves,  some  of  them  will  fail 
in  the  performance  of  their  parts.     Those  who  have 

[6] 


read  history  know  how  battles  and  campaigns  have 
been  lost,  how  nations  have  been  conquered,  because 
of  the  failure  of  subordinates  to  execute  orders. 

All  executive  officers  will  appreciate  the  immense 
relief  one  feels  when  he  finds  that  among  his  subordi- 
nates is  one  to  whom  a  task  may  be  assigned  with 
the  certainty  that  it  will  be  executed. 

When  any  of  you  have  attained  this  position  in  the 
confidence  of  your  chief  you  need  have  no  fear  as  to 
your  future  advancement.  But  how  will  you  know 
when  you  have  gained  his  confidence?  The  answer  is 
easy — when  he  no  longer  questions  you  from  time  to 
time  as  to  the  progress  of  your  work.  You  are  asked 
to  get  off  a  shipment  of  goods  at  a  certain  time;  you 
are  asked  to  have  an  engine  ready  for  the  road  at  a 
definite  date;  you  are  asked  to  have  the  plans  and 
specifications  of  a  structure  complete  at  a  fixed  time; 
you  are  asked  for  a  report  upon  the  accounts  of  a 
firm  at  a  given  day;  you  are  asked  to  have  a  brief 
ready  at  a  specified  time.  If,  when  one  of  these 
pieces  of  work  be  assigned  to  you,  nothing  further 
be  said  in  reference  to  it,  you  have  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  your  chief.  He  knows  you  are  reliable,  and 
the  strain  in  his  brain  cells  is  relieved  at  one  point. 
But  so  long  as  your  chief  asks  if  a  task  is  being,  or 
has  been,  performed,  in  order  that  he  may  be  assured 
that  his  large  plans  may  go  forward,  he  lacks  confi- 
dence in  your  reliability.  Therefore,  he  must  keep 
the  matter  in  his  mind,  that  is,  he  must  not  only  do 
his  own  work,  but  must  have  the  responsibility  of 
seeing  that  you  are  doing  your  work. 

Now  this  quality  of  reliability  does  not  require 
talent.    The  dullest  man  in  the  class  may  have  it ;  or 

[7] 


if  he  has  it  not,  he  may  acquire  it.  Each  one  may 
become  absolutely  reliable  in  reference  to  the  tasks 
assigned  to  him.  This  quality  is  even  more  difficult  to 
acquire,  however,  and  demands  more  rigid  training  of 
one's  self  than  punctuality  or  accuracy,  for  it  involves 
capacity  to  plan  in  advance,  at  least  to  a  limited  de- 
gree, as  well  as  the  systematic  listing  of  all  the  pieces 
of  work  assigned  and  their  frequent  checking  up. 

No  excuse  will  serve  for  lack  of  promptness,  accu- 
racy, and  reliability.  The  late  president  of  our  uni- 
versity. Dr.  Adams,  gave  me  a  wise  definition  for  an 
excuse  which  since  that  time  has  dwelt  in  my  mind. 
He  said :  *  ^  An  excuse  is  a  reason  for  a  failure  which 
if  it  hadn't  occurred  for  that  reason  would  have  oc- 
curred for  some  other." 

Many  of  you  who  have  offered  excuses  to  members 
of  the  instructional  force,  know  that  this  definition 
fits  your  case.  The  excuses  offered  may  have  been 
accepted,  or  may  even  have  misled  the  instructor  oc- 
casionally. But  excuses  will  not  serve  when  results  are 
required.  When  a  man  has  failed  to  perform  a  task 
which  a  superior  officer  has  assigned  to  him,  nothing 
is  gained  by  taking  time  in  attempting  to  give  reasons 
for  the  failure.  The  superior  is  interested  only  in 
the  performance  of  the  assigned  work.  If  the  work 
has  been  done,  that  is  well.  If  it  has  not  been  done,  it 
is  of  no  avail  to  give  explanations  why  this  is  the  case. 
I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  occasionally  one  may  not 
have  sufficient  reason  for  failure  to  perform  an  as- 
signed task.  Even  the  strongest  and  most  resource- 
ful is  sometimes  overcome  by  accident,  or  by  forces 
beyond  his  control,  but  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred  a  failure  might  have  been  avoided  by  the 

[8] 


exercise  of  the  qualities  which  I  have  described.  In 
the  rare  case  where  failure  is  justified,  the  best  state- 
ment to  make  to  a  superior  is:  ^*I  have  failed.  I 
shall  try  not  to  fail  again." 

These  then  are  the  fundamental  qualities  leading 
to  success — punctuality,  accuracy,  and  reliability.  He 
who  possesses  them  may  be  sure  that  he  will  be  in 
demand.  Ten  times  as  many  men  could  be  used  by 
the  world  at  the  present  moment  as  can  be  found 
who  possess  these  qualities.  Yet  every  member  of 
this  class  may  have  all  if  he  will.  You  who  now  pos- 
sess them  have  an  immense  advantage  over  those  who 
have  been  negligent  in  these  respects.  Rapid  promo- 
tion is  sure  to  come  to  you. 

In  the  matter  of  advancement  it  is  important  to 
understand  the  principle  upon  which  promotion  is 
based.  Each  one  of  you  should  appreciate  that  the 
only  possible  way  in  which  promotion  can  come  to  you 
is  by  earning  more  than  you  are  receiving.  If  at  the 
end  of  the  year  you  go  to  your  employer  and  say :  *  *  I 
am  receiving  $50  a  month  and  I  have  earned  that  and 
could  earn  $60, *'  he  will  reply:  **How  do  I  know  that 
you  can  earn  $601  You  have  earned  $50  a  month, 
and  there  you  will  remain. ' '  But  if  you  can  say  truth- 
fully :  ^  ^  I  have  been  receiving  $50  a  month,  and  have 
earned  $75  a  month  or  $100  a  month,''  you  have  a 
basis  upon  which  to  expect  promotion.  No  other 
basis  will  be  recognized.  All  who  are  worthy  of  the 
places  they  occupy,  whether  janitors  or  heads  of  di- 
visions, are  earning  more  than  they  are  receiving. 
These  only  may  hope  for  advancement.  Those  who 
are  earning  just  the  amount  they  are  receiving,  their 
employers  are  hoping  will  have  a  call  to  go  elsewhere, 

[9] 


and  if  there  is  not  improvement,  they  will  not  wait 
indefinitely  for  the  call  to  come. 

While  a  reasonably  successful  career  is  assured  to 
those  who  possess  the  qualities  already  mentioned, 
they  are  not  sufficient  to  win  the  highest  success.  To 
accomplish  this,  three  other  qualities  are  required: 
resourcefulness,  leadership,  and  faithfulness  to  trust. 

One  who  has  resourcefulness  puts  thru  the  thing 
assigned  to  him  without  calling  upon  his  superiors 
for  frequent  directions.  Two  men  may  be  given  a 
like  task,  both  of  whom  we  may  suppose  to  have  the 
qualities  of  punctuality,  accuracy,  and  reliability.  The 
one  will  frequently  go  to  his  superior  officer  for  fur- 
ther information  and  instructions,  asking  for  advice 
and  assistance,  asking  for  authority  to  do  this,  that,  or 
the  other  thing.  The  second  man,  the  one  who  is  re- 
sourceful, will  not  trouble  his  superiors  from  the  time 
the  task  is  assigned  to  him  until  the  work  is  accom- 
plished. He  solves  the  difficulties  himself  as  they 
arise.  He  has  the  courage  to  take  responsibility  to  do 
the  things  necessary  in  order  to  accomplish  the  task. 
He  understands  that  the  direction  to  do  a  piece  of 
work  carries  with  it  the  authority  to  take  the  steps 
required  to  obtain  the  results  expected. 

One  who  is  truly  resourceful  is  sure  of  self,  but  not 
self-conceited.  The  self-conceited  man  thinks  he  has 
knowledge  and  ability  beyond  that  he  possesses.  He 
thinks  he  knows  how  to  proceed  when  he  does  not. 
On  the  other  hand  the  man  who  is  sure  of  himself, 
knows  whether  he  does  know.  If  he  does  not  know, 
he  finds  out  before  going  ahead.  If  his  judgment  tells 
him  it  is  necessary,  he  will  apply  to  his  superior  offi- 
cer for  further  information  or  further  authority,  altho 

[10] 


^^^^^^^ 


G    T . : 


he  always  does  this  reluctantly.  But  when  he  knows 
he  has  the  information  and  the  authority  necessary, 
he  solves  difficulties  as  they  arise,  and  reaches  the  de- 
sired result  without  taking  the  time  and  energy  of 
his  superior  officer. 

In  a  group  of  students  it  is  easy  to  tell  to  which 
class  a  man  belongs.  The  conceited  man  is  known 
among  his  classmates  as  one  who  ** stabs.'*  In  gen- 
eral he  is  a  man  who  as  yet  has  acquired  no  serious 
sense  of  personal  responsibility.  The  man  who  is  sure 
of  himself,  upon  the  other  hand,  frequently  gains  in 
the  esteem  of  his  instructor  by  quietly  saying  that 
he  does  not  know  when  asked  a  question  which  goes 
beyond  what  may  be  reasonably  expected,  as  fre- 
quently questions  do  when  asked  by  the  skillful 
teacher,  with  the  purpose  of  leading  to  the  further 
development  of  a  subject. 

In  this  matter  of  resourcefulness  the  efficiency  and 
thoroness  of  your  education  will  be  tested.  You 
who  have  neglected  the  opportunities  for  acquiring 
knowledge  and  training  in  your  college  work  will  be 
heavily  handicapped  in  the  matter  of  resourcefulness. 
You,  upon  the  other  hand,  who  have  spent  the  best 
efforts  of  twenty  or  more  years  of  your  life  in  ac- 
quiring a  thoro  education,  will  be  in  a  very  favorable 
position  to  handle  the  problems  assigned  to  you.  As 
these  problems  arise,  you  will  find  no  bit  of  knowl- 
edge that  you  have  acquired  too  remote  to  be  useful; 
and  the  mental  power,  the  capacity  to  handle  the  work 
of  the  laboratory,  seminary,  or  debating  society,  will 
be  of  immeasurable  value  to  you  in  handling  the  real 
problems  of  life. 

The  student  who  is  sure  of  himself  in  his  college 

[11] 


work,  who  knows  whether  or  not  he  knows  the  point 
in  question,  the  man  who  in  the  laboratory  or  semi- 
nary has  worked  out  the  assigned  problems  without 
assistance,  is  the  one  who  will  prove  to  be  resourceful 
in  his  life  work. 

The  next  quality  with  which  we  have  to  deal  is  that 
of  leadership,  i.  e.,  the  capacity  not  only  to  work  out 
problems  assigned,  but  the  capacity  to  take  the  initia- 
tive and  to  work  in  cooperation  with  other  men,  and 
thus  to  lead  them. 

The  ability  to  cooperate  with  other  men  is  depend- 
ent to  a  large  extent  upon  one's  capacity  to  see  the 
other  fellow's  point  of  view.  The  man  who  can  take 
the  point  of  view  of  the  other  fellow,  who  can  appre- 
ciate his  opponent's  position,  is  one  who  will  be  a 
leader.  Many  a  man  has  failed  of  the  highest  suc- 
cess, simply  because  he  did  not  have  this  quality.  It 
gives  the  power  to  understand  sympathetically  the 
laborer,  or  the  miner,  as  certainly  as  the  superior  ofi&- 
cer.  One  who  has  charge  of  men  should  be  a  chief 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  Such  a  man  meets  the 
lowest  with  no  trace  of  condescension;  he  meets  the 
highest  with  no  trace  of  servility.  He  sees  all  men 
with  level  eyes. 

The  mining  superintendent,  who  in  the  gallery 
cheerily  says:  '* Good-day,  Bill,  how's  your  child?" 
*^Good  morning,  Tom,  hope  your  wife  is  better  to- 
day," is  the  man  who  will  be  loved  by  the  men  under 
him,  provided  the  interest  is  real  and  not  assumed. 
With  love  for  the  chief  who  is  on  the  level  there  may 
go  the  deepest  respect,  indeed  even  dread  in  case  of 
failure  to  perform  one's  full  duty. 

The  true  leader  has  courageous  initiative.    He  has 

[12] 


constructive  imagination.  He  sees  a  line  of  progress 
perceived  by  no  other.  He  finds  a  solution  of  a  prob- 
lem which  no  one  before  has  been  able  to  solve.  These 
are  among  the  highest  of  the  intellectual  qualities  of 
the  human  mind. 

While  the  man  who  has  initiative  and  is  a  natural 
leader  of  men  will  treat  with  respect  the  suggestions 
of  others,  not  infrequently  he  already  will  have  given 
full  consideration  to  the  views  advanced  and  will  have 
rejected  them.  In  such  cases  he  is  likely  to  adhere 
firmly  to  his  own  ideas.  For  if  he  be  truly  a  leader, 
his  ideas  will  often  be  an  advance  and  an  improve- 
ment upon  those  offered.  Having  worked  out  his  own 
plans,  having  tested  them  in  every  possible  way,  he 
will  adhere  to  them  even  if  he  stands  alone.  Thus 
thru  all  time  have  done  all  great  leaders,  whether 
warriors,  statesmen,  scientists,  inventors,  or  moral- 
ists. 

It  is  a  common  maxim  that  it  is  easier  to  destroy 
than  to  build  up.  It  is  equally  true  that  it  is  easier  to 
oppose  than  favor  a  departure  from  the  regular  pro- 
cedure of  the  past. 

But  all  progress  consists  in  departures.  It  is  easy 
to  find  men  who  are  against  many  things,  but  hard 
to  find  men  who  are  for  many  new  things,  and  who 
will  labor  for  these  things  with  all  the  energy  of  their 
natures.  The  true  progressive  is  always  a  man  who 
is  for  more  things  than  he  is  against. 

At  the  same  time  he  exercises  good  judgment  in  the 
selection  of  those  things  for  which  he  stands  and  for 
which  he  labors.  While  sane  judgment  is  needed  in 
the  selection  of  the  things  which  one  advocates,  upon 
the  whole  the  man  who  is  somewhat  erratic  and  is  for 

[13] 


more  things  than  he  is  against,  is  a  more  useful  citi- 
zen than  the  one  who  thinks  that  the  fact  that  a  thing 
has  been  done  in  a  certain  way  for  a  long  time  is 
adequate  reason  for  its  perpetual  continuance.  The 
man  who  always  finds  the  present  condition  better 
than  any  suggested  change  is  the  man  who  obstructs 
advance  until  he  is  overriden  by  the  wheels  of  prog- 
ress. 

Many  men  who  have  the  qualities  of  leadership,  in 
the  sense  that  their  ideas  are  in  advance  of  those 
which  are  prevalent,  lack  the  courage  to  adhere  to 
their  convictions  in  the  presence  of  opposition.  They 
are  controlled  by  their  fears.  They  have  not  the  cour- 
age to  say :  *  *  This  is  the  right  course  to  pursue ;  this 
problem  has  been  solved  correctly,  I  shall  proceed.'' 
They  say:  **It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  right  thing  to 
do,  but  Mr.  Blank  gives  many  reasons  against  the 
proposed  course,  and  I  am  afraid  of  this,  or  that,  or 
the  other.''  Or,  if  an  enterprise  be  entered  upon, 
some  obstacle  arises,  strong  opposition  is  met.  In- 
stead of  stiffening  in  their  plan,  and  calling  into  play 
all  the  faculties,  knowledge,  and  capacity  to  deal  with 
men,  they  yield  their  purpose.  Obstacles  exist  but  to 
be  overcome !  When  one  has  a  righteous  cause,  oppo- 
sition should  only  make  him  more  determined  and  re- 
sourceful in  the  pursuit  of  the  end  sought.  One  may 
fail  temporarily,  notwithstanding  all  his  courage,  en- 
ergy, and  ability,  but  temporary  failure  should  only 
harden  the  iron  of  his  nature  into  tempered  steel  to 
carry  forward  the  cause  to  a  successful  conclusion, 
whether  the  contest  be  one  of  days,  or  months,  or 
years. 

On  occasions  of  reversal  or  disaster  to  one's  plans, 

[14] 


he  should  call  forth  all  his  energy,  and  with  unflinch- 
ing determination  carry  forward  the  fight.  Grant 
said  that  when  the  battle  had  gone  badly  at  the  end 
of  the  first  day,  he  always  aimed  to  be  the  first  to  at- 
tack the  following  morning,  and  if  this  were  accom- 
plished, victory  was  almost  sure  to  follow.  This  is 
the  sustained  courage  of  a  great  soul. 

In  athletic  contests  you  all  know  the  value  of  the 
qualities  of  which  I  speak,  but  the  intellectual,  moral, 
and  religious  battles  of  life  will  require  of  you  vastly 
higher  standards,  and  a  more  sustained  spirit  than 
can  be  exliibited  in  a  physical  contest. 

While  unfaltering  courage  and  resourcefulness 
usually  leads  to  success,  failure  may  come  to  the  best, 
and  one  must  be  prepared  to  meet  disaster  with  a 
cheerful  temper.  A  university  education  ought  to  do 
much  for  a  student  in  the  fine  tempering  of  his  char- 
acter to  meet  adversity,  so  that  he  will  still  carry  on 
the  fight  with  unflagging  spirit,  with  dauntless  reso- 
lution. The  great  Milton,  old  and  blind,  in  the  midst 
of  political  misfortune,  said :  *  *  I  bate  no  jot  of  heart 
or  hope. '  ^  May  you  young  men  come  up  to  this  stand- 
ard, and  if  occasionally  the  forces  of  nature  or  hu- 
manity are  so  strong  that  you  are  finally  overcome, 
notwithstanding  resistance  to  the  uttermost  at  every 
step,  you  in  defeat  will  be  at  peace  with  yourself, 
having  done  your  best,  having  played  the  man's  part; 
whereas  if  you  surrender  before  you  are  wholly  over- 
come, you  will  ever  feel  the  sting  of  regret. 

I  strongly  emphasize  this  quality  of  courage  since 
many  men  of  large  intellectual  qualities  fail  of  the 
highest  success  because  they  lack  its  cooling  and  sus- 

[15] 


tained  force.  They  are  controlled  by  their  fears 
rather  than  by  their  convictions. 

High  qualities  of  leadership  therefore  in  any  enter- 
prise, industrial,  commercial,  political,  moral,  or  relig- 
ious, involve  capacity  to  see  the  other  fellow's  point  of 
view,  firm  adherence  to  one's  own  point  of  view,  ini- 
tiative in  developing  one 's  ideas  in  accordance  with  a 
positive  program,  and  finally  the  courage  to  carry 
through  that  program  whether  it  does  or  does  not 
meet  the  approval  of  others. 

Finally,  the  man  who  would  achieve  the  highest 
success  must  be  faithful  to  his  trust.  This  faithful- 
ness to  one's  trust  frequently  has  a  two- fold  aspect. 
So  long  as  a  man  is  employed  by  a  certain  house,  is 
affiliated  with  an  organization,  he  must  be  faithful  to 
the  interests  of  that  organization.  But  in  this  com- 
plex world  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  faithful- 
ness to  the  organization  with  which  one  is  connected 
is  in  conflict  with  faithfulness  to  the  state  and  to  the 
nation.  As  one  goes  upward  step  by  step  until  he 
becomes  associated  with  the  policies  of  the  organiza- 
tion, he  may  find  them  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  the  people.  The  question  then  arises  as  to  whether 
he  shall  continue  the  relations  of  the  past. 

This  is  the  point  where  more  men  of  talent  have 
failed  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  than  at  any  other. 
In  the  great  majority  of  cases  when  this  point  has 
been  reached,  a  man  has  continued  his  connection  and 
been  faithful  to  the  organization  with  which  he  is  as- 
sociated rather  than  to  the  nation.  It  would  be  easy 
to  give  a  long  list  of  men  of  high  intellectual  attain- 
ments, conspicuous  for  financial  or  political  success, 
whom  the  people  rightly  mistrust.     This  parting  of 

[16] 


the  ways  is  indeed  the  time  that  tries  men's  sonls,  for 
high  and  determined  courage,  based  upon  profound 
moral  conviction  is  required  of  one  who  would  sever 
his  connection  with  men  with  whom  he  has  had  long, 
close,  and  pleasant  association,  with  an  organization 
which  has  been  profitable  to  him  and  which  he  be- 
lieves will  still  further  advance  him. 

Members  of  the  Graduating  Class: 

Many  of  you  now  beginning  your  life  work  will 
within  the  next  dozen  years  find  yourselves  where  you 
must  make  this  choice.  May  your  habits  of  life  and 
moral  convictions  under  the  teachings  of  this  univer- 
sity be  so  developed  that  at  this  trying  time  you  will 
be  faithful  to  the  nation  rather  than  to  selfish  in- 
terest. 

It  has  been  said,  **Many  are  called  but  few  are 
chosen.''  I  repeat  to  you,  as  I  did  to  the  class  of 
last  year,  the  words  of  Ernst  Mach:  **A11  are  called 
and  all  may  be  chosen." 

Whether  you  are  chosen  depends  solely  upon  your- 
selves. Everyone  of  you  may  acquire  those  three  fun- 
damental qualities  of  punctuality,  accuracy,  and  re- 
liability, which  will  go  far  toward  making  your  hav- 
Jng  lived  in  this  world  a  benefit  to  mankind,  and  if 
this  be  so,  you  are  among  the  chosen.  Possibly  not 
all  of  you  may  expect  to  achieve  those  qualities  of  re- 
sourcefulness and  leadership  which  will  give  you  high 
place,  but  many  I  trust  will  finally  attain  them. 

All  of  you,  I  pray,  may  be  found  to  possess  the  one 
quality  necessary  for  success  in  the  highest  sense — 
faithfulness  to  your  trust,  faithfulness  to  the  organ- 
ization with  which  you  are  associated  so  long  as  you 

[17] 


continue  the  association,  and  faithfulness  to  humanity 
so  long  as  you  may  live.  Faithfulness  to  humanity  is 
to  my  mind  the  highest  ideal  in  this  world,  an  ideal 
which  each  may  attain,  and  if  you  live  your  life  in 
accordance  with  this  ideal  whatever  befall,  your  life 
has  been  a  success  and  a  beneficent  influence  in  this 
world. 

If  I  have  spoken  plainly  and  with  warmth,  it  is  be- 
cause I  have  a  deep  interest  in  you  and  in  your  future. 
If  I  have  seemed  to  chide,  it  is  because  I  am  so  pro- 
foundly concerned  in  your  welfare.  You  are  the  first 
class  to  graduate  whose  whole  course  has  been  taken 
in  the  university  during  the  time  that  I  have  occupied 
the  position  of  president.  My  hopes  go  out  with  you, 
as  do  the  hopes  of  a  father  for  his  first-born. 


[18] 


COMMENCEMENT  ADDRESS 

Members  of  the  Graduating  Class: 

In  my  baccalaureate  address  I  have  spoken  of  the 
fundamental  qualities  which  lead  to  personal  success. 
But  personal  success  of  the  many  is  the  success  of 
humanity,  and  thus  it  is  that,  in  the  main,  individual 
success  is  in  harmony  with  service  to  the  world.  In- 
deed it  is  always  true  of  the  honest  and  faithful  work- 
man, whatever  his  station,  that  when  he  helps  himself 
he  helps  others.  The  miner  who  digs  out  the  ore,  be- 
sides providing  for  himself,  benefits  those  who  own 
the  mine,  and  thru  the  product  of  the  mine  bene- 
fits the  world.  The  bricklayer  not  only  wins  bread 
for  his  family,  but  he  helps  to  make  a  home  for  some- 
one else.  The  farmer  in  addition  to  his  personal  gain 
furnishes  food  for  those  who  pursue  other  vocations. 
The  engineer  who  builds  a  bridge  may  increase  his 
wealth  and  reputation,  but  he  also  makes  it  conven- 
ient for  the  multitude  to  cross  the  river.  The  lawyer 
who  lives  up  to  the  ideals  of  his  profession  is  a  peace- 
maker and  an  aid  to  the  courts  in  the  securing  of  jus- 
tice. The  merchant  who  builds  up  his  own  fortune 
brings  within  the  reach  of  all  the  products  of  the 
world.  The  teacher,  the  preacher,  the  investigator, 
at  the  same  time  that  they  are  earning  their  liveli- 
hoods are  primarily  interested  in  the  improvement  of 
the  human  race,  the  amelioration  of  the  hard  condi- 
tions of  mankind,  the  lessening  of  human  suffering. 

[19] 


Indeed  it  may  plausibly  be  held  that  he  is  a  wise 
philanthropist  who  thru  personal  effectiveness  ad- 
vances himself  in  a.  manner  which  also  advances 
others. 

Thus  it  is  that  in  pointing  out  the  path  of  success 
for  you,  I  have  also  pointed  out  a  path  which  may  be 
one  of  service  to  the  world.  It  is  right,  therefore,  for 
one  to  regard  his  own  interests  and  those  of  his 
family,  as  well  as  those  of  others  with  whom  he  is  im- 
mediately associated. 

But,  unfortunately,  one  may  push  his  own  interests 
without  regard  to  the  interests  of  others.  As  I 
pointed  out  on  Sunday,  self  interest  and  faithfulness 
to  humanity  may  be  in  conflict.  Self  interest  may  be- 
come so  developed  in  one's  nature  as  to  make  selfish- 
ness a  dominant  quality. 

But  since  reasonable  consideration  for  one's  own 
interest  may  be  easily  and  naturally  consistent  with 
the  general  welfare,  there  is  no  possible  excuse  for 
those  who  allow  their  own  interests  to  override  the 
interests  of  the  community.  Those  who  do  pursue 
their  own  advancement  regardless  of  others  are  the 
buccaneers,  the  pirates  of  our  time.  They  should  be 
** grilled''  by  public  opinion.  They  should  be  re- 
strained by  law. 

I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  many  men  who  now 
find  themselves  the  objects  of  public  opprobrium  are 
greatly  surprised  at  their  positions.  They  had  no 
idea  that  their  selfishness  which  led  to  the  disregard 
of  others  would  also  lead  to  the  whirlwind  of  con- 
demnation which  now  sweeps  over  them.  Their  moral 
senses  have  become  so  dulled  that  they  are  unable  to 
appreciate  the  public  point  of  view. 

[20] 


The  above  considerations  lead  to  the  conviction 
that  the  question  of  supreme  importance  for  you,  mem- 
bers of  the  class  of  1907,  is  how  to  decide  when  faith- 
fulness to  self  is  in  harmony  with  faithfulness  to  hu- 
manity. The  answer  to  this  question  is  that  in  pur- 
suing one's  personal  success  one  must  be  subject  to 
the  highest  prevailing  intellectual  and  moral  ideals. 

There  is  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  moral  laws,  but  all  are  agreed  that  they  should 
be  laws  which  bring  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number.  Not  infrequently  youth  finds  it  difficult  to 
understand  the  reason  for  some  of  the  rules  of  con- 
duct which  the  race  has  worked  out,  and  sees  no  neces- 
sity for  following  them;  but  he  should  be  extremely 
cautious  in  deviating  from  the  rules  of  his  people,  for 
if  they  are  closely  examined  and  all  the  consequences 
are  traced  out,  one  is  apt  to  find  that  these  rules  can- 
not be  safely  violated. 

It  is  appreciated  that  as  a  race  advances  the  ideals 
change  under  the  leadership  of  intellectual,  moral, 
and  religious  seers,  but  these  leaders  are  not  likely  to 
regard  the  rules  of  the  past  as  too  rigid ;  they  are  far 
more  likely  to  find  them  too  lenient.  Thus  the  only 
safe  course  for  you  is  to  adhere  firmly  to  the  highest 
ideals  of  the  race  with  which  your  lot  is  cast. 

But  if  our  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  ideas 
are  in  a  measure  functions  of  our  race  and  of  the 
period  in  which  we  live,  is  there  not  some  simple  prin- 
ciple which  can  serve  as  a  sure  guide  to  conduct  in 
the  pursuit  of  success  and  happiness  for  self  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  general  wel- 
fare? I  believe  there  is  such  a  basal  principle,  a  bed 
rock  upon  which  one  may  rest. 

[21] 


One  should  so  live  that  the  suffering  of  no  human 
being  shall  be  increased  because  of  his  existence;  he 
should  so  live  that  the  happiness  of  some  others  shall 
be  increased.  Putting  it  in  another  way,  one  should 
highly  resolve  that  the  world  shall  be  a  better  rather 
than  a  worse  place  for  other  human  beings  because 
of  his  existence  in  it. 

When  in  doubt  as  to  the  path  to  pursue  one  should 
ask  the  question:  **Will  this  course  increase  or  de- 
crease the  happiness  of  others'?  In  pursuing  this 
course  shall  I  injure  another  T' 

I  have  much  confidence  in  the  salvation  of  all  those 
who  on  the  final  day  can  feel,  *  ^  The  world  is  a  better 
place  because  I  have  lived;  those  human  beings  with 
whom  I  have  had  relations  have  been  happier  because 
of  my  life.''  It  is  my  hope  that  whenever  the  last 
call  may  come  to  any  of  you,  you  may  humbly,  calmly, 
and  hopefully  feel  that  your  life  has  been  a  benefac- 
tion to  the  world.  No  higher  aspiration  than  this  is 
possible. 


[22] 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


RlfcC^ 


tve.0 


l\pn^'^^ -^^^^ 


(iui 


tkLlfi  iM  OCT  h 


72  .Ql\kf^^ 


LD  21A-60m-7,'66 
(G4427sl0)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


zmnt'mi 


290ct'g2SgB 


OCT  USd'^^?^. 


7,'37 


mm: 


^ti^ 


m 


:yi 


"'■i.'"' 


r-reis?.      ,  ;■ '""  ■-■    1   ■■■■' 


■mi 


hk 


im:'  -fc^:-^'^- 


m^ 


^-M 


m 


mr0^ 


i^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  WBRARY 


